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The Accidental Hero
Once a struggling rock star in Bogotá, Carlos Vives became a national symbol almost overnight by fusing Colombia’s traditional vallenato rythmns with modern rock and pop. As if to represent the unity of a country in conflict, the…
The UK's Top Colombian Creatives
The contribution of Colombian immigration to UK culture is impossible to ignore. As far back as 1975, Guardian writer Richard Williams described the Monday night when salsa king Héctor Lavoe took to the stage in a grotty London…
Goodbye to the Buena Vista Era
Sequel to the album, the movie and the shows that took the world by storm in the late 1990s, and tribute to both the musicians who have passed away and those alive and kicking, the Buena Vista show at London’s The O2 likely…
Grupo Niche 35 Aniversario (Codiscos)
This Colombian salsa institution shows no sign of stopping. Even after the death of its founder and musical brain Jairo Varela, this album shows how the Cali group has managed to keep the band going without losing quality or…
Various Artists Cuba y Puerto Rico Son…
It’s not the first time that an all-star team from these twin Caribbean islands have collaborated to record songs from each other’s countries, but when you get Havana D' Primera, Cultura Profética, Charlie Aponte, Isaac…
TOP 10 Latin Hip Hop Artists
Dominated by Caribbean talent - from Venezuela and Puerto Rico to Cuba and the Dominican Republic – Latin America has produced some of the most exciting Hip Hop artists of the last decades. Ticking the boxes of commercial…
Telajeta Musica de Venezuela in London (White Label)
A daring new take on Venezuelan music by a collective of London-based musicians including Caracas-born Ernesto Marichales on drums and percussion. Re-arranged and ‘jazzified’ by the whole band, Musica de Venezuela brings classics…
Nicolá Cruz Prende el Alma (ZZK Records)
French/Ecuadorian producer Nicolá Cruz’ first full-length album is a masterpiece of experimental electronic music fused with folk sounds. No fillers but a great amalgam of folk percussion, Andean flutes with synths, and…
Renaissance Man
Doctor, poet and musician, Jorge Drexler has taken the long and winding road to global success. Winning an Oscar at 41 – the first ever for a song not sung in English – was just the beginning. Now recognised as one of the finest…
Movimientos 10th Birthday Playlist
DJ Cal Jader chooses 10 tracks from the Movimientos crates with some of the tunes that rocked the dance floor at their early nights to three key releases on their record label and a few killer tunes from the last few years.
LEON KING
For a country that has given Latin America its most phenomenal and popular male vocalists (and songwriters), it is no surprise that Mexico has also produced some of the world's greatest operatic tenors, such as Ramón Vargas…
SOYO by Dom La Nena (Six Degrees)
A global album with a Brazilian soul, a nostalgic feel but full or raw energy from a truly modern day globe-trotting Bohemian.
Lula All Stars: Salsa de la Buena (Lulaworld Records)
Canadian based Salsa outfit playing wth passion and flavour
Things That Matter to...Chucho Merchán
Colombian born Chucho Merchán is one of British rock’s most successful bass guitarists. After studying at Cambridge University, he spent two decades playing and touring with The Eurythmics, The Pretenders, George Harrison, Pete…
Order Within Chaos
Desorden Publico is arguably Venezuela’s most loved band. A kind of Rolling Stones meets Madness with a tropical vibe that has been rocking generations in Latin America. Jose Luis Seijas meets the legendary band in Caracas on…
TAMBOLERO by Totó la Momposina y Sus Tambores (Real World)
A wonderfully ambitious remixing and remastering of her classic album La Candela Viva.
Radical Beauty
Every now and then, someone special emerges through the cracks in the music industry monolith to grab listeners’ attention. Marta Gómez is one of those artists. Her authentic sound, her story-telling and meaningful lyrics have…
The Grandfather of Brazilian Hip Hop
When you're talking about Latin Hip Hop, you can't get much bigger than Marcelo D2. A former vocalist of the band Planet Hemp, Marcelo D2 started his solo career in 1998 with the album Eu Tiro É Onda. After many years…
Football’s Bohemian
After a very successful career in the Spanish and Italian football leagues for Valencia, Lazio and Barcelona, Gaizka Mendieta felt the urge to experience the most acclaimed league in the world. At 29, the Bilbao-born Spanish…
The Audacity of Being Brazilian
Pianist/singer/songwriter Eliane Elias is known for her distinctive musical style, which blends her Brazilian roots and her sensuous, alluring voice with her virtuosic jazz, classical and compositional skills. We caught up with…
Top Ten Salsa DJs in the UK
As everyone who loves dancing knows, the DJ holds the key to making a great night on that dance floor. And Salsa is no exception. Here is Latinolife's guide to the best salsa DJs in the UK. Follow them and you'll be…
Latin DNA by Dorance Lorza and Sexteto Cafe
The latest release from one of the UK's most outstanding Latin musicians
Reinas, Princesas and First Ladies: Salsa’s Women
Salsa music may be known as a tool to seduce women, but the flow swings the other way too. Here are some of Salsa’s greatest soneras who bewitched audiences and proved their talent in a world dominated by male leads.
Salsa’s Unsung Heroes
Ever since the days of Mozart, the most talented artists and innovators who provided the very stuff that made their music cool, were often exploited in their lifetimes and died in poverty, their genius unrecognised and their work…
The Resurrection of Fania
Everyone knows the legendary tunes that came out of Fania. Like all empires, Fania’s went into decline after the 1990s. For many years the catalogue of iconic albums that sold millions, made superstars of Latin artists such as…
THE FANIA GENERATION
Jose Luis reflects on the importance of Fania, the iconic 1970s New York record label that created the Salsa brand, and the identity it forged for Latinos all over the world. It left not only a musical legacy but had a…
JORGE SPITERI: The Father of Latin Funk
Signed to major record labels in the 1970s, Jorge Spiteri is considered by many to be the pioneer of Latin music in the UK. In Latin America, he is known as the godfather of Latin Funk, influencing a generation of bands, such as…
It Takes Three to Tango
Plaza Francia is changing perceptions in the tango world. Consisting of ex-Gotan Project’s Christoph Müller and Eduardo Kakaroff and solo singer Catherine Ringer, the Paris-based group is propelling tango music into mainstream…
Top Ten Mexican Rock Bands
Mexican rock and pop has produced some of Latin America's most succesful bands. Whether British and US influenced bands or the indigenous groups creating innovative music styles and of the 'Rock en tu idioma'…
....Best Mexican Albums of 2014/15
Some of the Latin America's best music is produced in Mexico. Here is Latino Life's top ten selection of best Mexican Albums of the Last year
LatinoLife's Favourite Mexican Male Singers of all Time
Since the days when Mexico was a serious rival to Hollywood in terms of film production and quality, The US’s closest Latin neighbour has been producing most of the biggest selling singers of Latin America. Their imagery of the…
Should we Boycott Narcocorridos?
Sarah Quarmby delves into the gory culture that surrounds increasingly popular Mexican drug ballads.
An interview with Quimantu
Sarah Quarmby talks Latin rhythms, left-wing politics and educational duties with Mauricio Venegas-Astorga and Rachel Pantin from Quimantu. Photo credit: Harriet Armstrong
Raíz - Lila Downs, Niña Pastori, Soledad
An ambitious collaborative project from Mexican-American folk singer/songwriter Lila Downs, Latin GRAMMY-nominated Argentine folk/pop singer Soledad and Latin GRAMMY-winning Spanish flamenco singer Niña Pastori.
Convoque Seu Buda Criolo (Sterns)
The Latest album form the increasingly respected Brazilian rapper and soul singer.
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Gabriela (2023) Oscar-qualifying short film by Guatemalan-American…
Gabriela, a young Guatemalan undocumented immigrant struggles to fulfill her dreams of becoming a…
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MAGDALENA, TE AMO (2024) by Andrea Calao
‘Magdalena, Te Amo’ (2024) is a moving short film about student sex workers in New York. Premiered…
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Power Alley (Levante- 2023) by Brazilian director Lillah Halla
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As one of the biggest football teams in South America and the world, the Argentine Football…
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Globally, Mexico is known as a boxing powerhouse, boasting some of the greatest champions in the…
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LatinoLife's Favourite Mexican Male Singers of all Time
Since the days when Mexico was a serious rival to Hollywood in terms of film production and quality…
